1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns apparatus for protectively enclosing network or communications cables in proximity to equipment where the cables are terminated.
2. Discussion of the Known Art
It is common practice at central switching offices to contain fiber optic and wire cables in protective troughs suspended horizontally above a number of routers or other equipment where the cables terminate. Cables associated with a given piece of equipment are allowed to drop a certain distance in an exposed state from the trough above the equipment, and to enter cable ports of the equipment. Thus, if a new cable must be connected to equipment in addition to existing connected cables, it is not uncommon to lash the new cable to the existing cables where exposed so as to provide the new cable with ample support. It will be appreciated, however, that such lashing can disturb the orientation of the existing cables and increase signal attenuation within the cables, especially if the cables are disturbed near their associated equipment ports.
It is known generally to attach a so-called vertical cable management trough to either side of a router to contain cables that run next to the router. See, Cisco Systems, Inc., Model XR 12416 and XR 12816 Router Chassis Installation Guide (March 2009), at pages 3-23 and 3-24. So-called inter-bay fiber management assemblies are also known that are constructed to contain and manage the routing of fiber optic cable at different levels or bays of an equipment rack, or the bays of two adjacent equipment racks. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,541,705 (Apr. 1, 2003), No. 6,571,047 (May 27, 2003), No. 6,845,206 (Jan. 18, 2005), and No. 7,437,048 (Oct. 14, 2008). See also, ADC Telecommunications, Inc., Unequal Flange Rack Installation Instructions (February 2001), at pages 31-34.
Notwithstanding the known art, there is a need for a cable trough such that, when mounted adjacent to either side of a given piece of equipment, cables contained inside the trough will be protected and will maintain a desired orientation and interface with the equipment cable ports. There is also a need for a cable trough that can be mounted vertically along either one of two different sides of equipment, even though the cable ports at the sides of the equipment are not configured symmetrically over the height of the equipment.